ZEDS Blog
I enjoy the essays of Dafoe, Addison, and Samuel
Johnson, all of which were published in pamphlets. Pamphlets were in vogue from 1650-1800, providing writers a forum to express views on politics, society, religion, and art. This has been revived in modern times in the form of blogs.
This is now a slight revamp of my blog that started in 2008.
My reading has become a little more specialized, although previous books commented on show I was heading this direction. At this point I will review mainly Christian texts or other texts from a Christian perspective. I intend to post more regularly with book reviews.
I consider reading and writing as part of the spiritual
journey toward maturity and, I hope, wisdom. These are postings of what I’m learning along the way.
Rod Zinkel, August 19, 2015
As usual, I write for a time, then read for a time and do not post anything. I have not written essays of late, but I will write some impressions of books I've read, until I write something more substantial. So I will post some of these quick reviews here. Most are along the lines of Christian reading, though not limited to it. I encourage Christians to read, and not just Christian works. Just this month, as I teach Chip Ingram's book, Good to Great in God's Eyes, we are discussing great Christians read great books. So I'll post something of those great books as I come across them. I hope you might find something of interest.
The Alluring Woman: Robert Girardi's novel, Vaporetto 13.
The novel takes place in Venice, and the setting is
important to the story, as the city is sinking. The protagonist, Jack Squire,
is an American currency trader abroad, sent to get the inside scoop on the frequently
changing politics of Italy. Money is central because he deals in it; his pager
keeps him up on money changes globally. In Venice he meets a mysterious woman,
Caterina, who takes his mind off the money, because she knows there are more
important things. She talks of bygone periods as though from first-hand
experience, of days of the Barnabotti, of Paolo Sarpi, of political intrigue
and assassinations and of tragedy In Venice. Squire is fascinated by the woman
and her world, what little she reveals to him. He thinks of her to the point of
neglecting all else. Their meetings are always at night, as she must catch the early-morning
vaporetto (a water bus) back to the Lagoon. She is religious in her own way. She
is cool in her manner. And she is private, so much so that Jack must spy out
where she lives. She has only told him it would not be good for him to visit
because she has an overprotective father who would not allow the relationship.
Girardi is excellent in developing
the mysterious woman, giving enough to allure, as she does Jack Squire, and in
building suspense by Jack’s obsession to find out who this woman is. The
setting in Venice is beautiful, but also conveys the antiquated past eroding. Knowledge
of something of the history of Venice, and a map, are helpful in reading, but
not essential.
Warning: there is some sexual content, some strong language.
Chapbook: Two Natures
The Neville Museum series has published a chapbook of 15 of my poems. They are of human and spiritual natures. Here are two poems from the book:
Two Natures
On still water of the pond
two natures you may notice--
where scum has been gathering,
there also grows the lotus.
One Way
There's a boy
who stands knee-high
to a July cornstalk.
He stares one way
down the dirt road
his mother has gone.
He find Fortune
has desrted him,
like the poverty-stricken,
society-forbidden parent.
"I can't take care of you," she said.
I am the child who mirrors
his mother's tears without knowing why?
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